The CESD Labour Team presented research results on labour relations and regional economic integration of private enterprises to Masters of Public Administration (MPA) students at the Yangon University of Economics (Kamaryut Campus) in August 2016.

The research results were based on the findings detailed in two forthcoming CESD reports:

Myanmar labor issues from the perspective of enterprises: Findings from a CESD survey among food processing and garment manufacturing businesses.

Myanmar SMEs’ participation in ASEAN and East Asian regional economic integration – with a focus on food and apparel manufacturing.

These two papers are based on results from a survey conducted by CESD among private enterprises in Mon State and Yangon Region in 2015.

In presenting to the MPA students, the following topics were discussed:

the CESD enterprise survey, including its objectives, sampling method, implementation and sample characteristics;

regional economic integration of Myanmar enterprises, including the current state of firms’ participation in regional economic activities, enabling factors and obstacles to participation in regional trade and production networks, and emerging policy conclusions; and

Approximately 70 students attended the presentation, taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session afterwards. The students raised questions about the current state of Myanmar’s economy, potential investment sectors, employment contracts, labour-force education, and overtime payments. Questions related to the legislative framework for labour were also raised.

Thomas Bernhardt, CESD Researcher and Policy Analyst, said that Myanmar labour laws had improved over the past five years. However, he said that challenges in implementation of laws remained, including clauses in some laws being controversial for both employees and employers, a lack of knowledge on labour laws, and inadequate level of labour inspections in Myanmar.

The presentation concluded with a vote of thanks from an MPA student representative.

CESD is committed to contributing to human capacity development in Myanmar, and the presentation to MPA students is a highlight for CESD’s Labour Team.